Schrader, Tootie Smith to face off in November

Congressman Kurt Schrader, the Democrat who represents most of Clackamas County, will face County Commissioner Tootie Smith in November after both won decisive victories against their May 20 primary opponents.

Oregon's Fifth Congressional District also includes all of Marion, Polk, Lincoln and Tillamook counties as well as small portions of Multnomah and Benton counties. Before being elected to Congress, Schrader, a farmer and veterinarian for more than 30 years, established and managed the Clackamas County Veterinary Clinic in Oregon City and operated a farm, where he grew and sold organic fruit and vegetables.

Smith, a former state representative from Mulino, defeated Ben Pollock of Wilsonville in the May 20 Republican primary. Pollock is a former congressional aide with a masters degree in public policy who now works at SMS Auto Fabrics, his familys business in Canby. Smith was elected to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners in 2012 and was a state representative from 2001 to 2005.

I want to thank Ben Pollock for a healthy debate and for fighting against the status quo [in Washington, D.C.], Smith said when the results become clear. We need many more Ben Pollocks if we are to succeed as a party.

Smith has expressed her commitment to the middle class, to job creation and to small businesses across this district. She vows to work to repeal and replace Obamacare. Smith is also a fourth-generation hazelnut farmer and small-business owner, and she regularly volunteers for St. Marys Church, the Molalla Centennial Committee and various other local causes.

In 1996, Schrader was elected to the Oregon State House of Representatives, where he served as a member of the Joint Ways & Means Committee. Schrader was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 2003 and continued to serve in that capacity until he was elected to U.S. Congress in 2008.

Following his overwhelming victory against Anita Brown, Schrader said he was grateful for all the Oregonians who turned out to support his campaign.

I look forward to a spirited debate this fall, Schrader said. The biggest issue in this campaign is our economy. We need a business environment that allows employers to create more and better jobs. We need a robust transportation and infrastructure plan. We need to pass a plan for our O and C timber lands to put jobs back in the woods while preserving our fragile forests.

Schrader currently serves as a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, House Committee on Small Business and House Budget Committee. He is also co-chairman both for communications for the Blue Dog Coalition and for the New Democrat Coalition's Health Care Reform Taskforce.